By Ken Rosenthal, Fabian Ardaya and Matt Gelb
Free agent shortstop Trea Turner and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to an 11-year, $300 million deal with a full no-trade clause, league sources have confirmed. Athleticism In Monday. ESPN broke the news for the first time. Here’s what you need to know:
- Turner ranks No. 5 on AthleticismJim Bowden’s Top 25 Free Agent List.
- Turner is hitting .298 with 194 hits and 100 RBI in 160 regular season games with the Dodgers in 2022.
- He cut .333/.333/.778 and had six hits in four games in the National League Division Series, which the Dodgers lost to the Padres.
Screening report
Turner was expected to seek a long-term contract of approximately 10 years as a free agent. He’s coming off another solid season in which he scored 101 runs, hit 21 home runs and stole 27 bases.
Turner maintained his elite speed remarkably well. He was as fast this year, at 29, as he was as a 23-year-old rookie for the nationals in 2016, posting the second-best sprint speed in MLB and ranking in the 99th or 100th percentile for the eighth consecutive season. Equally important, Turner puts those wheels to good use as a high-volume, high-efficiency base stealer and more of a defender.
He can play second base in addition to shortstop, further increasing his appeal to teams.
How Turner fits in with the Phillies
In Turner, the Phillies filled two holes with a top athlete. They’ve secured their shortstop and lead hitter for the foreseeable future. They paid a high price for it, but Turner was always the Phillies’ priority. He has a strong relationship with Kevin Long, the veteran batting coach who was influential in the Phillies’ acquisition strategies. He performed with Bryce Harper, who had lobbied for Turner to join him. Turner wanted to be on the East Coast, and by agreeing to an 11-year contract with a full no-trade clause, he pledged to finish his career with the Phillies.
The Phillies can move Bryson Stott to second base, where he’ll be a more defenseman. Under Dave Dombrowski, the club made several moves to shore up the midfield. First it was Brandon Marsh last summer. Now, with Stott and Turner as a double-playing tandem, they have better defense everywhere.
Turner has elite speed and athleticism, and it’s a package the Phillies are willing to bet he’ll age well. Are their risks later? Sure. But, in the immediate term, Turner was the perfect fit for a franchise trying to capitalize on the momentum of a surprising playoff series. — Gelb
Contract Value Assessment
The Phillies followed a similar path with Turner as they did on Harper. They pushed longer term to lower the annual average contract value. Turner’s camp wanted the $300 million figure. The Phillies were okay with that — if it came over a year or two more. The $27.3 million annual hit means the Phillies have even more wiggle room to add around Turner and Harper, who are now united for the rest of their careers. — Gelb
Other offseason priorities
With the biggest piece done, the Phillies can now focus on improving their throwing. They will be in the market for a mid-spin starter. They will need paddock reinforcements. But they have the money to do it. Essentially, they took the committed annual salary for Jean Segura and Didi Gregorius and applied it to Turner. — Gelb
Where the Dodgers turn away from here
The Dodgers have a slew of shortstop options, most of which got significantly more expensive with Turner kicking off the deal and getting $300 million. They’ve already missed Justin Verlander’s landing and have launch needs, while planning to stay under the $233 million luxury tax threshold.
This means that while the Dodgers will certainly be brought up in talks for the remaining great free agent shortstops (Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson), they will also be willing to seek help for shortstops. via trade, with names like Willy from Milwaukee Adames, Tim Anderson from Chicago or Amed Rosario from Cleveland make sense. The Dodgers have expressed some confidence in Gavin Lux slipping and playing daily shortstop, but there are alternatives they’ll be looking for. — Student
Compulsory reading
(Photo: Orlando Ramirez/USA Today)
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